For batting practice, a number of machines have been developed to throw balls in controlled sequence to a batter, one example being the machine shown in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,614. However, as will be apparent, the batted balls must be retrieved by players in the field and then manually returned to the throwing machine.
Attempts have been made to provide automatic retrieval and recycling equipment for the balls, but no satisfactory solution has been devised. Such equipment necessarily includes some form of restrictive enclosure, which commonly has been an expensive and permanent structure utilizing standard building techniques. Furthermore, such structures have included hard surfaces and edges, which cause damage to the recycled balls and limit their useful life. Furthermore, recycling of the balls to a throwing device seemingly requires complex mechanisms, which also are expensive and greatly enlarge the overall dimensions of the equipment.